Creative Non Fiction
Story of Irisan
What is the meaning of the word Irisan?Why was it named Irisan? Who are the original settlers in Irisan?What was Irisan before?
Irisan is the biggest and most populated barangay in Baguio City.Irisan came from the word Idisan which means a wood used to grind something to make it fine.Irisan also means bayanihan.The original settlers of Irisan are Luna,Smith,Bugnay,Oseo,Maganes,Binay-an,Dusnong,Copero,Gayduin,Mang-os,Gabol,Saguid,Menecio,Tacloy,Ingosan,Catalan/Calatan,Tacay,Cutay,Salda and others.
The first family who settled in Irisan is Virginia Luna that was married to Felix Luna.Before Felix Luna,she was first married to Lopez Oseoand they had one son.Felix Luna was his second husband.They had bore 11 childrens all in all.Virginia Luna together with his father Catalino Pablo came to Irisan when she was 13 years old.She was one of the barangay officials from 1967 to1970 and became the second barangay captain of Irisan from 1972 until 1988.
She was also a market vendor and a dealer/supplier of restaurants in Manila.Back then Cypress was owned by Pucay,he sol to a company and was turned into a subdivision dumpsite,a pastural land before,now a residential area was belong to Joaquin Smith.
The Cooyeesan we all know now was called Baguio Military Institute,a school for rich students before but when it closed down,a Korean company bought it and named it Cooyeesan.The Oseo family has the widest land area while Joseph and Pastor Gabol has 27 titled hectares before.There was also a creek nearby when gold planning was done and a lime quarry in Apugan.The lime quarry was later bought by the mining company,Benguet Consolidated Inc.In 1945,BCI established a lime kiln in Irisan to supply lime for their gold mines in Itogon.
Irisan before was thickly forested with pine trees and connected to Tuba,Benguet that was under the management of Mayor Joaquin Smith.There was only few houses in Irisan back then.The traditional Ibalio houses were made of pine wood and cogon stick roofing.
Nowadays,Irisan has mix cultures because of immigrants.There were also few ancestors left,eventhough many years had passed,the culture of Ibaloi's will never disappear.It will be inherited/pass on to their offsprings and to the next generations.
-Photo by Alchetron
